Undercover
by Valeriasg1
Summary: They needed to keep him warm until the rescue team arrived. John x Elizabeth x Rodney friendship


Title: Undercover  
Rating: PG  
Character/Pairing: John/Elizabeth/Rodney friendship  
Spoilers: None. Set in season 2  
Warnings: None  
Prompt Number: #58: Holding

"Out!" John Sheppard pushed Elizabeth out of the back of the puddle jumper and followed her just few seconds it crashed on the largest of Kareena's moons. The small ship smashed the surface of a frozen lake and lodged itself in the thick layer of ice. The back section of the jumper stuck out from the , dark gray against white. It was sinking imperceptibly into the viscous water underneath. To John, it looked like a small _Titanic_ .

The ice under him and Elizabeth didn't give way as they rolled towards the bank, with the violence of their high fall.

"You okay?" John lifted himself up rather gingerly, testing his limbs for eventual injuries. He was sore all over, but except maybe for a bruised rib, he found nothing of importance. Just a few other purple contusions to add to his ever growing collection.

"I'm in one piece," Elizabeth replied not many feet away from him, "I think." She had fallen with all her weight on her right wrist, and she was reluctant in putting any weight on it.

"Did you see where Rodney fell?" She asked then, looking around herself. She sat on the hard ground at the edge of the lake, gripping her wrist with her healthy hand and applying a gentle pressure in a light massage.

John squinted against the sun and roamed the place with his eyes. No sight of his friend. "He jumped right before you—"

Elizabeth mentally retraced her steps. She was sure Rodney was still fumbling with the control panels when John had urged her to leave the ship. "No, he was behind you in the jumper."

John shook his head. "No one jumped out after me."

Suddenly alarmed, two pair of eyes converged on the sinking ship. Part of it was still above the surface, but the water was now seeping in quickly. John rushed forward, uncaring of the slippery ice that made him fall and scrape his knees and hands several times before he reached the jumper.

He treaded more carefully around the ship, for the ice there was thinner and cracked dangerously under his boots.

"McKay?" He called as he tried to find a balance and looked inside the jumper. McKay was indeed there, apparently unconscious and half submerged by water.

A hand landed on his shoulder and held fast. Elizabeth. "Is he in there?"

He turned to her briefly. "Yes, but he's out cold. I need to get in."

Her fingers dug into his flesh almost convulsively. "What if your weight makes the jumper sink faster?"

"It's our only chance. I'll be back in the blink of an eye." He raised a thumb at her and entered the ship headfirst. He hastily grabbed both of Rodney's arms and pulled until his head was out of the water.

The scientist coughed and sputtered some water, but remained unconscious and a dead weight for John to lift. He called in Elizabeth to help pull his arms while he slipped in further to push from the other side. Her wrist hurt and she almost lost her grip more than once, but they managed to get Rodney and a backpack with two blankets to safety.

The wind on the planet was thin and cutting, and frost was starting to form on Rodney's clothes and hair.

"Rodney?" Elizabeth slapped his face lightly. "Wake up." He groaned in pain and one inquisitive eye opened, strangely lucid after what he'd been through. "What happen—hey!" He cut himself off mid-sentence and sprung up, or at least he tried. Dizziness overcame him and he had to lie back, a hand over his eyes. "What on Earth are you doing to my clothes?" He sounded slightly more subdued this time, but there was still an edge of irritation to his voice.

"I'm taking them off, they're wet." Sheppard provided the answer as he was slipping his drenched socks off his feet.

"That I can see for myself. God, my head is pounding, what happened to me?"

"You were still inside the jumper when it crashed. We had to carry you out."

Elizabeth helped Rodney out of his jacket and shirt and wrapped his torso in one of the blankets.

"Feels better?" She asked.

He grimaced. "Not really. I'm going to die of hypothermia on a godforsaken moon, and there's not even the shadow of a ZPM here."

"Ronon and Teyla are still on the planet, when we won't show up at the meeting place they'll alert Atlantis." John spread the second cover on the hard ground. "Can you move your toes and fingers?"

He could still feel them, but his movements were considerably slower. "Kind of."

"Okay." John licked his lips nervously. He had served in Afghanistan, and although the desert could be very cold at night, he wasn't exactly an expert in this kind of situation.

"Lie down on your side." He gestured to the blanket. "We'll try to keep you warm until someone comes for us."

Elizabeth shrugged her uniform jacket off and folded it to make a pillow for Rodney. John used his to wrap up the scientist's bare feet.

"This is going to be very embarrassing when it's over." She muttered to ease the tension as she lay down beside him, facing him, and put her arm around his waist under the heavy blanket. He was shaking harder than she'd thought, and instinctively pulled him closer. He slipped a cold hand beneath her shirt, and she had to suppress a surprised yelp as goosebumps broke on her skin around the area. It felt quite inappropriate to be so intimate with one – or better, two – of her subordinates, but given the circumstances, she suppressed the thought.

John spooned up behind him with a little hesitance, and stretched the cover over the three of them as best as he could. It wasn't large enough, and both he and Elizabeth could feel the sting of the wind on their backs.

"This could be working." He mumbled against Elizabeth's shoulder.

"It better be, I'm risking my reputation here." John made a face that was only half visible to Elizabeth behind Rodney's head, and got a raised eyebrow in return.

"At least you're dressed." He sulked. He sniffled a little and closed his eyes. The trembling had eased, and John felt himself relaxing against him.

The worst was over.

"Elizabeth, you're too skinny." Rodney slurred groggily. He was probably already half asleep.

"What?" She didn't sound very alert either.

"You should eat more, I can feel your ribs." He squeezed her lightly and let his hand slide to her waist.

"I will follow your advice." She nodded even though he couldn't see him. "Rest now."

When Rodney's breathing had slowed down to a steady rhythm, John broke the silence.

"How's your wrist?" He whispered, his arm reaching out over Rodney's body to touch her hip.

"It's still hurting. I must have sprained it." She moved it self-consciously where it was resting, trapped between her chest and Rodney's.

"I have a tissue we can use as a bandage. To keep it from moving too much in case it's a broken tendon."

Elizabeth moved carefully not to disturb the sleeping man and freed her arm, extending it above their heads.

"You know, Rodney's right, " he said as he curled his fingers around her slim wrist, "you do are too skinny." He wrapped the rumpled tissue around her arm as best as he could and tied it with a large, awkward knot. "That should do until Carson can have a look at it."

She smiled. "Thank you."

He placed a soft kiss on her palm and released her arm. "Anytime."

The smile still on her face, she closed her hand in a loose fist as she sheltered the injured limb once again in the warm space under the blanket.

They fell silent again, tiredness descending upon them.

Lulled by Rodney's gentle snoring and the beating of three hearts in unison, they dozed off, one after the other.

All fast asleep, neither of them budged even when they were beamed up directly onto the bridge of the _Daedalus._

Behind her console, Novak hiccupped.


End file.
